New year Resolutions

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Proverbs 29:18

Happy New Year to you! A new year, a new beginning. If you're like most people,you've probably flirted around with New Year's resolutions: You've said, "THIS is the year I'm gonna lose weight and get in shape. Starting January 1st, no more snacking. I'm joining the health club and I'm gonna work out daily. I may even do my first marathon." What happens? By February 1st (the latest ...) you're back on the junk food regimen, you've been to the club a total of five times (you're "just too busy to get there"), and you've filed that marathon application in the trash. And you've concluded, "Resolutions don't work for me." (You've got a lot of company on that one ...)

Maybe you need a better approach. Instead of making a mental resolution, create a Mission Statement. The difference?

A Mission Statement is:
a handwritten or typed-out paragraph

posted someplace you can see it regularly

committed to memory

has specific, measurable outcomes

has a deadline — in this case, December 31st

Here's a process you can use right now to create a Mission Statement for personal success in your career or business. Get out a pen and some paper.

Step A. Write down five positive personality characteristics you like about yourself in your career/business. For example: willingness to learn, persistence, creativity, friendliness, sense of humor, etc.

Step B. For the items you listed above, describe the way you express each positive characteristic on a regular basis in your career, using the word "by" to begin each phrase. For example, if you listed "willingness to learn" above, you might write "by being committed to ongoing professional development" below. Another example: If you wrote "persistence" above, you might write "by making sure the job always gets done" below.

Step C. Write down five goals you'd like to achieve by one year from today. Be sure to list a specific financial goal separate from these five goals.

Step D. Look back over Steps A, B, and C, and circle the three most important items in each column.

Step E. Now fill in the blanks of the following paragraph:

My purpose is to express my ____________________, , _______________________, ____________________ (write in the three items you circled in Step A) by ____________________ , by ____________________, and by ____________________ (write in the three items you circled in Step B) to create ____________________, ____________________, and ____________________, (write in the three items you circled in Step C) and at least ____________________ (write in your financial goal) by ____________________ (write in the date one year
from today)."

When finished, you will have a short paragraph that reads something like:

"My purpose is to express my intelligence, creativity, and people skills by continually learning and applying new ideas, by finding unique solutions to my clients' problems, and by building a powerful network of contacts to create 15 new corporate accounts, a steady flow of referral and renewal business, and full technological competence, and at least $125,000 in gross commissions by this date one year from today."

I hope you give this deceptively simple exercise a try, and I encourage you to follow the guidelines above of posting it where you can review it, committing it to memory and reciting it daily. Then you won't need to make any more fruitless resolutions — you'll be like The Blues Brothers ... you'll be on "a Mission from God."

Goals

As we go into 2009, I think 09 could be one of the worst years in many and according to all reports it is going to take a long time to work our way out of this slump.
There has been way to much greed going on and there is nothing we can do about it. Our politicians have given us a good screwing this time. Setting and reaching my goal is going to require a little more work now.
Setting and reaching goals during my working years was one thing I was really good at. There are many good ideas from many authors much better than I, you can just Google "goals" and read 10,000 articles. All I can share with you is the fact that goal setting was the single biggest factor in my success.
My goal could not be just a general term Like take a vacation to Scotland. I would write it down on my calendar. Go to Scotland for 3 weeks and leave on Aug 4.
I always set my goals in the last quarter of a year for the next year. And setting a goal takes a lot of time, I had to be very specific, then I had to make a plan of work to afford that vacation, I would have to check plane ticket cost, hotels, plan my spending money and so on. But if I wrote it down and decided to do it, nothing could get in my way (barring an act of God). That goal would become a force that drove me. I would decide that I had to buy my ticket be the end of Jan, line up my hotels by the end of Feb, rent a car ect and I would accomplish my goal one step at a time and on schedule.
In all my working years I never set a goal for a specific amount of money, I always considered money to be my servant and not my master. That vacation was far more important than the money. And I could visualize myself in a castle pretty easy.
Now working was a condition not my goal. But my goal was the fuel that motivated me.
My dead lines were appointment that could not be canceled. Now I have always been self employed, I have never been in the position to grab onto someone else's coat tail and let them drag me though life while they reap the rewards of my efforts and they get richer.
If I would have ever said "My goal is to make $25k by June" for my vacation I would have never been able to take a vacation.
As I said work was a condition but my goals were always PLAY, playing has always been for more important to me than working for money.
As I look back over my working career, I can say I would not change anything because I have played a lot. Now that I have retired I have settled down to some serious playing.

Ways you can benefit from a website.

For many companies, the meaning of the Internet implies an interest in finding customers in Zaire
instead of their local community. There are still some who think a website should get millions of hits
each month to be worthwhile. I disagree. In fact, earlier this year I did a series of webcasts for a
national bank. They invested a lot of money into each webcast that is posted on their website. When I
asked how many folks they though would see the program they estimated that about 500 viewers would
see the program immediately. If you think about it, if only 20% of the 500 become new small business
customers and generate $1 million in revenue annually and deposit in that particular bank, the bank's
webcast investment will have more than paid off.
Now, that example is on a large scale. To take a look at a smaller scale, let's look at my experience on a
recent trip to the hair salon. I overheard the receptionist taking a phone order. At the end of the
conversation she asked the caller how she had heard about the salon. When she hung up, I asked her
how the caller had located them. She said, "The Internet. The caller lives in Illinois and wanted to get a
gift for a friend who lives in Pittsburgh and uses the salon, so she ordered a gift certificate for her
friend."
The salon uses the site to display its price list and offers the virtual visitor an opportunity to purchase
gift certificates for services from massage therapy to hair styling. The salon would probably not have
reached that customer in Illinois without having a website.
I stopped at the local dry cleaners the other day to drop off clothes. When I return to pick up my clothes
I will have a discount coupon for that dry cleaner that I print from their website. I can also e-mail them
for pick-up and delivery when I don't have time to stop by.
The dry cleaner uses its website to communicate discounts and specials to its customers.
I have a friend who is in the speechwriting business who saves thousands of dollars in printing costs
and postage by using his website as an electronic brochure to showcase his services.
A website benefits both large and small businesses by increasing visibility and profits. It can both
satisfy current customers and attract new ones.
The Internet is a wonderful place that allows you to showcase your business in many creative ways.
This could range from a simple, but colorful and eye-catching Web page to presentations that embrace
animation, sound and-or video.
You no longer have to spend thousands of dollars to have a website. And some places make things easy
by offering Web space for you to build a do-it-yourself site. You can take a look at yahoo.com or check
out your service provider; most offer you a few web pages at no cost.
The Internet will continue to impact the economy, and entrepreneurs both large and small should take
every opportunity to market their products and services. Having a website is one very important step in
that direction.

Jack Schitte

Make on Snapvine

Papa Noel - Cajun Santa

Every year hundreds of 30 foot plus tall bonfire structures are built of wood, firecrackers, and occasionally bamboo along the Mississippi River levee in and around the town of Lutcher, Louisiana. These bonfires are laced with kerosene or lighter fluid, then all are ignited simultaneously at 7 p.m. US Central Standard Time to welcome the arrival of Papa Noel(cajun Santa) on Christmas Eve.

The bonfires have been explained as long ago before the Levee's were built, to help friends of the family find the inlets or slips coming off the river to the homes of those they wanted to visit on Christmas Eve. But more likely a good way to encourage the children to help keep the inlet clear of the continuous build-up of washed up debris and driftwood.

Today, each family or street of families comes together and starts building usually the Thanksgiving break from school. They have limits now as to size and construction due to mishaps in the past. But Christmas Eve if its not a “Cajun Snowstorm” is enjoyed with a bonfire, pot of gumbo, fireworks, and a lawn-chair. All are welcome to join the merriment, now even special sternwheelers, paddleboats, or riverboats offer bonfire cruises down the Mississippi River.

It is a Christmas Eve tradition, unless it rains, then it is promptly changed to a New Years Eve tradition. You will always see the displayed pirogue with Papa Noel being pulled by his special alligators, lead by Alphonse.

claimID.com/billyecole - Billy E. Cole

claimID.com/billyecole - Billy E. Cole

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Snow? Here Nooooooo way!

Last winter I was in the mountains of North Carolina and I had enough snow to do me for a while, So this winter I planned to spend in southern Louisiana and what do I get first thing - Snow, I know God loves though, but it never snow here.
A rare snowfall blanketed south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi on Thursday, closing schools, government offices and bridges, triggering crashes and leaving
thousands without power and we just went thru hurricans Gustav and Ike.
Up to 8 inches of snow was reported in parts of Louisiana. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts.
A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where about an inch accumulated. A peak of 8 inches was reported in Amite, about 75 miles northwest of New Orleans right here in Gonzaales where I am. I am headed to the Rocky Mountains come spring and I aint coming back here.

Merry Christmas

My 68th Christmas will not be much unlike the first one I remember.
Christmas is a such a wonderful time of year, spirits are high, people are generous and giving.
Then comes the pressure of giving more and more. There didn't use to be pressure. Merchants have never been able to mass motivate into that frame of mind.
We would make our gifts, when you make someone a gift, there is a lot of effort put in it so it means more to you and to the person getting the gift. And it is extremely personal.
I for one let it be known that I do not want a gift that was made China by religious prisoners. If you will Google that phrase you might feel the same way.
It is still fun to go to the woods and cut a tree, the only reason I can see paying $100 for a Christmas tree is so that when friends come over and ask how much did it cost, you can tell them. I on the other hand would tell a great story about how we climbed this mountain with a hand saw and cut it down and dragged it back, about all the mud and on and on about the wonderful adventure we had cutting this tree. You would soon know that I was lying about what I went through but you would know that I cut that tree. And that I decorated it with popcorn on a string, candy, cookies and other goodies that could be eaten.
Now the food part, all that cooking and baking, frying, boiling and such, there is no stress in that and there is no fear that someone is going to disable me with a shopping cart or trample over me getting to the blue light.
Now about all this buying. I am funny about this, I would never buy you a gift that was not made in America and I will not appreciate it if I find out that you could not afford the gift you bought me and charged it on some credit card.
Last and most important. Christmas is Christ's Birthday. If you cannot say "Merry Christmas" to me please do me a favor and don't speak at all because I will feel a lot better about you.
Merry Christmas to you. I hope you can give everyone on your list every thing they want. I hope you get things you never thought you would ever get from people you forgot.
And I really hope you refrain from happy holiday.

Child Abuse

Wikipedia:
Up till now has been one of my favorites, but after reading this post on my Yahoo, I think I will do as the British have done and place them on my ban IP list also. Too save my soul I cannot understand this child abuse that goes on in the human race.
Everyone of us has something that upsets us and mine is this child issue. I myself can turn into a violent creature when I see someone abuse a child. It is a legal and moral concern of mine and I think these criminals should be dwelt with in a barbaric public display of human disdain for their action, I could easily cast the first stone at a known and convicted repeat offender.
Below is the article that has me upset If you want to see the picture look it up for yourself I wont post it on my sites.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia any unemployed Internet commenter can edit, has been banned by British Internet service providers over a display of child porn.
Free-speech zealots among Wikipedia's volunteer editors have insisted that the original cover of Virgin Killer, a 1976 album by German heavy metal band the Scorpions — shown here with a teddy-bear bowdlerization — must run alongside the site's page for the album. Their stubbornness has landed the Wikipedia page on a list of porn sites maintained by Internet Watch, a British group, whose censorship recommendations many British ISPs follow.
The ban seems like overkill, since it covers the album page, not just the image in question. But the fact that Wikipedia has let matters get this far speaks to the site's screwed-up culture. Erik Möller, the deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia's nonprofit parent, has defended child pornography in the past. His extremist stance is mirrored by an outspoken minority within Wikipedia's ranks of editors.
The Wikipedian child-porn fetish is disturbing. But it's a sign of a much deeper problem. Wikipedia editors love to make up bureaucratic rules. It's part of what makes the site so intimidating to new users, and why bias and misreporting so often go uncorrected on the site. Knowledgeable people are scared away by the need to engage in time-wasting arguments with bored teenagers and obsessive Internet users for whom enforcing these rules is a source of cheap entertainment. Why Internet providers are banning Wikipedia pages instead of Wikipedia editors is beyond me.

Just look at me now.

My road to romance took a little bit of a detour about 16 years ago, My eyes faded from looking at pretty things like women, mercy, they are such beautiful, mysterious creatures. The muscles in my chest fell to my belt line and I beat the hair off my head on the beds headboard, But it sure was fun while it lasted! Now I just roll with the punches and keep a positive mental attitude and enjoy my memories. I know that I am in for some interesting surprises and delightful adventures. I believe that! I stay hopeful and I'll stay cheerful. Having positive emotions will show the universe that I am still ready for positive encounters.

attitude adjustment

When I need an attitude adjustment, I need to come up with a different strategy for working through my emotions. Today, instead of feeling all of my feelings and then getting overwhelmed, I'll move them up to my brain -- and start thinking them through. I'll take each emotion one at a time -- identify what I am feeling and then analyze it. Is it helping me live a happier life or making me feel bad about myself? If it is negative byte then I will delete it. Ah I am done deleting, I have only one negative ion left and I am going to confront that issue right now until it is eliminated, leaving only a good positive mental attitude throughout the rest of my day.

Take this job and shove it.

The best place to work in America is becoming like every other big corporation. Google, at its heart an overgrown advertising agency, is most famous for its lavish perks. Now those are disappearing. The billions gushing in from Google's search monopoly don't make for a good story. Whenever Google's PR executives have looked to drum up press, they've led with the candy-colored offices, the free food, and the copious free time. All of those are now on the chopping block — which leaves not much to talk about at Google except the profits.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Google's new push for cost cuts. As others have reported, Google is curtailing service at its cafeterias, reducing hours and restricting guests. A third of Google's 30,000 workers are contractors — and many of those jobs will disappear. (Conveniently, when a contract ends, it's not deemed a layoff.) And superfluous offices are being shut.

More importantly, Google's employees no longer have free rein to pursue their own ideas. Google's engineers can spend 20 percent of time on side projects. That freedom remains, in theory, but the progress a lone engineer can make on a new website without hardware and additional personnel is limited. The new message: Fiddle all you want, but don't expect any money from Google to back your creation.

When Google went public in 2004, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin told shareholders to get ready to be taken for a ride. Not in so many words, of course. But in the company's IPO prospectus, they defended the company's already-lavish perks, and said that investors should expect spending to go up, not down.

But Larry and Sergey have grown tired of coddling their employees. Far from being grateful, the perks have made employees feel entitled. Brin in particular has complained about workers taking bowls of M&Ms and free bottled water for granted.

Why should Google's founders care, really? They seem increasingly detached from Google's core business, preferring to spend time on rockets and electric sports cars rather than optimizing AdWords. They increasingly deal with a small core of early Google employees, all IPO lottery winners, who are similarly insulated from the economic reality of living in one of the most expensive areas in the U.S.

A famous example of their cluelessness: Brin allowed his sister-in-law, Susan Wojcicki, also a Google executive, to spend millions of Google's money on a new child-care center which dramatically raised its costs. Rather than revise plans to make child-care more affordable, Google started charging employees nearly twice the market rate.

Investors will be unbothered by Larry and Sergey's change of heart. And employees, after they get done grumbling, will likely content themselves with the reality that they still have jobs.

No, the people hit hardest by this will be Google's flacks — and the servile journalists who so eagerly celebrated Google's lava-lamp culture. What stories will they tell now? How Google is cutting corners on the organic foie-gras hamburgers in its cafes?

Pirates

Cruise Ship Attacked by Pirates
About 100 ships have been attacked while sailing in waters off Somalia this year. The pirates have hijacked 40 of these vessels, and more than 250 crew members and 14 ships are still being held by the hijackers. Just weeks ago, a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil was hijacked by Somali pirates, and over the weekend, an American cruise liner was also attacked. The vessel was carrying 656 passengers and 399 crew members when six pirates in two speedboats opened fire on it. The cruise ship was faster than the pirates’ vessels, however, and was able to escape its pursuers without sustaining any damage. No one on board was injured in the attack.